Usual Place for Sick Care

In 2007, a doctor’s office or health maintenance
organization (HMO) was the usual place
for sick care (not including routine or preventive
care) for 74.8 percent of children in the United
States, a proportion that varies by poverty status
and race/ethnicity. Children with family incomes
above the poverty threshold ($21,203 for a family
of four in 2007) were more likely to visit a doctor’s
office or HMO for sick care than children with
family incomes below the poverty threshold.

Among children with family incomes below
the poverty threshold, 71.2 percent of non-Hispanic White children received sick care at a doctor’s
office or HMO, compared to 61.8 percent of
non-Hispanic Black children and 45.9 percent of
Hispanic children. Hispanic children were more
likely than non-Hispanic children to receive sick
care at a clinic or health center, with over 50
percent whose family incomes were below poverty
and more than 30 percent whose family incomes
were above poverty receiving care at such
a location. Comparatively, only 25.4 percent of
low-income and 13.9 percent of higher-income
non-Hispanic White children received care from
clinics or health centers.

Only a small proportion of children used a
hospital emergency room, hospital outpatient
department, or some other source as their primary
source of sick care. Children with family
incomes below the poverty threshold were more
likely than children with family incomes above
the poverty threshold to do so. For instance, 3.8
percent of Hispanic children and 3.4 percent of
non-Hispanic White children with family incomes
below the poverty threshold received sick
care from these sources, compared to 1.4 percent
and 1.8 percent, respectively, of those with family
incomes above the poverty threshold.

Information on this page can be found in the print version of Child Health USA 2008-2009.
Suggested Citation: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and
Child Health Bureau. Child Health USA 2008-2009. Rockville, Maryland:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009.